Mexico’s Fisheries Hit 1.8M Tons, Top 15 Globally

Mexico — The fishing and aquaculture sectors employ 247,479 people who contribute to food sovereignty, strengthen the economy, and bring these foods to the tables of Mexican families, according to the Statistical Yearbook of the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries (Conapesca), an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRICULTURA).

In the context of World Fisheries Day, commemorated every November 21 to recognize fishing communities, their importance for human life, and their contribution to sustainability, Conapesca highlighted that these sectors are key to ensuring sufficient, safe, and protein-rich food of high biological value throughout the country.

Mexico has a surface area of 12,500 square kilometers of coastal lagoons and estuaries, 6,500 square kilometers of inland waters, and along its coastlines, it has an extension of 7,828 kilometers on the Pacific and 3,294 kilometers on the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

This geographical position grants it great potential to sustainably develop fishing activities, as a result of the diversity of water bodies and species.

Conapesca indicated that the fishing population is distributed among 78,168 coastal vessels and 1,622 deep-sea vessels. This also strengthens job generation in sales points, restaurants, and in the canned and frozen fish and seafood industry.

In 2024, 1,845,060 tons of fishery and aquaculture products were produced, a figure that has grown since 2015. Among the species with the highest volume are sardine, anchovy, shrimp, and tuna.

Sonora, Sinaloa, Baja California, Baja California Sur, and Veracruz are the entities that lead the production list, according to the Conapesca Statistical Yearbook.

This performance has placed Mexico among the top 15 places in global fishery production and, in particular, the shark and dogfish fishery ranked second and the small pelagic fishery ranked third in 2023.

For the sustainable development of the activity, Conapesca establishes fishing bans for commercially exploited species, based on recommendations from the Mexican Institute for Research in Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (IMIPAS), an agency attached to AGRICULTURA.

Additionally, it addresses requests from fishing communities to establish Fishing Refuge Zones (ZRP) that protect marine ecosystems and contribute to restoring species biomass. This year, eight ZRPs have been announced in Yucatán, Baja California Sur, and Colima, through the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF).

Therefore, and in the context of World Fisheries Day, the Government of Mexico recognizes the fishers of the country, who with their work contribute to food sovereignty.